Help authors get books reviewed

Early Reviewers looks good but is limited to books published within the last 6 months. I suggest removing this limitation, or starting another group that is similar to Early Reviewers, (i.e. allows authors to give books to potential reviewers), where they can enter any book they have published, not matter how long ago they published it.

Why introduce limitations?

As I understand it, Early Reviewers is a case where authors and publishers can offer a limited number of physical or eBook formats of a work to seek reviews to gain attention and audience. The selected winners get a copy of the book and are expected to write a review in exchange.

Anyone can write a review of any book they have or have read. Catalog it. Review it.

For older books there may not be anyone to provide copies to reviewers for the purpose so it comes down to individuals who have the book to review it.

What more are you looking for?

James

>2 Keeline: The question is from the other side: He is an author and would like to be able to get reviews... :) Which Member Giveways used to allow (without a requirement for a review) and now there is nothing in LT that allows these besides ER (which has conditions).

>1 Lyndon_Smith:

Try the Hobnob with Authors group. They have threads for promoting books in specific genres.

See https://www.librarything.com/ngroups/8391/Hobnob-with-Authors

>3 AnnieMod:

OK. I see that his only cataloged book is his own.

Why You Can’t Catch a Rocket to Mars: Some Personal Reflections on Science and Society (independently published), by Lyndon N. Smith

I also notice that he and one member with a private catalog are the only ones on LibraryThing who have a copy cataloged and would be able to review it. It was published in Dec. 2020 so beyond 6 months. I take it that there is a rule in Early Reviewers that says the book must be published in the past 6 months? I hadn't noticed that before but I suppose it is implied in the name. The paperback has some (47) reviews on Amazon which may be related to any format.

https://www.amazon.com/Why-Cant-Catch-Rocket-Mars/dp/B08NZHCPXZ/

The "Look Inside" preview has some prelim pages, including dedications and other works but no actual content from the book.

The Google Books entry is a stub with no preview available.

These could be limiting factors in the exposure for the book. It might be interesting. It might not. I can't tell from what is available. In years past I bought some books which might be similar Physics of Star Trek, etc.

James

>5 Keeline:

The six month rule was instituted when ER and MG were merged.

Why You Can’t Catch a Rocket to Mars: Some Personal Reflections on Science and Society, by Lyndon Neal Smith

>5 Keeline: "I take it that there is a rule in Early Reviewers that says the book must be published in the past 6 months"

Yep - after the revamp of the program which also killed Member Giveaways.

Since they just got rid of that program, the chances of reinstating it is pretty low.

What’s the point of the limitation? You’d think if anyone it would be the publisher who has an interest in getting books into ER quickly.

ER is work for staff. It should not be filled up with older books that authors have not been able to sell. Members should be assured that they are really getting new books and not remainders.

>10 MarthaJeanne:

Thanks.

Authors were complaining about the low rates of the entirely optional reviewing of Member Giveaway books. That must have been annoying to the LT team. It was irksome to me only as a reader.

I feel as indie authors forget how important new releases are, even for the back catalogs.

Older books that no one is talking about are usually placed lower on a TBR pile than are new releases and books that suddenly fit into a trend. It can years from when a reader acquires the books to get around to reading and reviewing them. Older books are typically just not high enough priorities to take reading and writing time away from books more likely to benefit from early marketing or a boost within a hot topic.

It's when the author (or a publisher who knows how to cross-sell) releases a new book that the old releases usually get attention again.

Was there a consideration to have a similar condition of receiving free books that a review be provided as it is with Early Reviewers? Sure it is hard to enforce except in terms of access to books through the program in the future. Though maybe "member giveaways" has a different connotation than author/publisher giveaways might. The old term sounds like an LT member who had excess books that they wanted to send off to other LT members.

I apologize for my relative ignorance on these issues. I have received only a couple Early Reviewer books and the last ones were many years ago.

James

>13 Keeline: Enforcing any kind of rules on Member Giveaway was more work for the LT staff than it was worth, so it was pretty much a free-for-all. Sometimes it was self-published authors giving away their books, sometimes it was a member who had excess books and wanted to send them off to other LT members.

>13 Keeline: Member Giveaways was for anyone who wanted to give books away. It was mostly used by self-published authors, but it wasn't uncommon for people downsizing their libraries to list books.

>14 norabelle414:

As a programmer myself for more than 22 years, I would look to a solution that would minimize LT staff time. This sort of thing does not have to be checked by hand. There are events that can be tacked such as LT member has expressed interest in a book, LT member selected to receive the book, LT member records a review. Based on having the three date-times registered would indicate whether an LT member was as eligible to get books from the system as before. These rules/system would apply to author/publisher supplied books.

But in the long run this is not much different than changing the date range for Early Reviewer by having a category of recent but not necessarily new/forthcoming releases. This is basically what the OP has asked for and it really comes down to what LT wants the program to be.

If members were allowed to opt out of the category with older books since there is a new feature for that sort of thing, it might address the issue raised where recipients don't want remainders and other books that could not sell (perhaps on the rationale that these are not as good).

James

There was a lot more just members giving away books in the beginning of Member Giveaways than later. There have been many complaints, both about authors not getting reviews, and also about winners never receiving the books. Authors also complained that not enough people asked for their books. These complaints from all sides also eat up staff time.

A big reminder: LibraryThing is a site for people to catalogue their books. That is the main purpose, and while other things like ER are nice, even useful, they are not what the site is about. In particular, it is not to help authors advertise their books. In fact, advertising is strictly limited. Authors who come to LT to advertise, get reviews... are going to be disappointed. They can try using Hobnob with Authors, but a lot of members don't go there.

>16 Keeline: I would look to a solution that would minimize LT staff time
The LibraryThing staff has already done so, and decided to incorporate some aspects of Member Giveaways into the Early Reviewer program and phase out the rest. They managed the Member Giveaway program for almost 15 years, I trust that they know what they are doing.

>17 MarthaJeanne: Yes to all of that, and also there were lots of complaints just from people confused about which program was which and what rules applied where.

The Member Giveaway program existed when the OP joined and entered the book. He did not chose to take advantage of it.